<p>Today eu-LISA celebrates its renovated site in Strasbourg with an inauguration event to thank those who provided the Agency with a modern working environment. Representatives from the French government, eu-LISA's governing bodies, EU institutions, EU Agencies, the local government, as well as eu-LISA's staff will take part in the festive event at 18 rue de la Faisanderie.</p><p><strong>Executive Director Krum Garkov said</strong>: <em>"Today sets a landmark for eu-LISA activities that are at the heart of the EU's internal security policies. This is where the Agency manages its large-scale IT systems that help safeguard, amongst others, Europe's borders. When the first building was built on these premises back in the 1990s, it could accommodate roughly 40 people. Now, we can say we are close to handling the ever growing need for specialists in the field, as the site is now sized for up to 5 times that capacity. It was not an easy task to get where we are today, but the hard work and dedication of all those involved has paid off</em><em>".</em></p><p><em><br></em></p><p>Read the full <a href="/Newsroom/PressRelease/Documents/eu-LISA%20SXB%20PR%20EN.pdf">press release</a>.​</p><p><br></p><p><img src="/Newsroom/PressRelease/PublishingImages/SXB.jpg" alt="SXB.jpg (1572Ã—888)" style="margin:5px;width:786px;" /><br></p>

<p>​​​​<em style="background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0);">On 17 October 2018 eu-LISA (the European Agency for the operational management of large-scale IT systems in the area of freedom, security and justice) and Frontex (the European Border and Coast Guard Agency) will co-host the conference "EU Borders - Getting Smarter Through Technology" in Tallinn, Estonia. The event is organised under the auspices of the Austrian Presidency of the Council of the EU. The conference will focus on new trends, technologies and challenges in external border management, both from strategic and operational points of view. The conference will bring together some 180 delegates representing Member States, EU institutions and agencies, practitioners and industry.</em></p><p><em><br></em></p><p style="text-align:center;"><em><img src="/Newsroom/PressRelease/PublishingImages/Annual_Conference_2018.jpg" alt="Annual_Conference_2018.jpg (1018Ã—720)" style="margin:5px;width:786px;" /><br></em></p><p><em><br></em></p><p>EU border management authorities have faced increasing challenges in recent years. Crime continues to be more international than ever, placing pressure on border authorities to step up checks in order to detect illicit activities; terrorist attacks have taken place on the territory of the EU that have involved sometimes extensive cross-border travel during preparations; some of the most vulnerable in our society continue to fall victim to human trafficking. Such challenges present at the same time as the flux across borders increases due to trade, business, work and travel.</p><p>Technology is increasingly seen as a vital means to deal with the increasing demands on border authorities. In the coming years, at least two new large-scale IT systems will be developed and implemented - the European Entry-Exit System (EES) and the European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS). Both systems seek to render border checks more comprehensive but at the same time more efficient. The systems will, inter alia, involve the use of biometric data to enable effective and rapid identity checks, the introduction of pre-travel authorisation processes to facilitate advance traveller processing and to remove some of the check burden from the first line border officer and the deployment of self-service technologies such as kiosks and Automated Border Control gates. eu-LISA is tasked with the technical development and implementation of both.</p><p>"Today, we face a transformation of the Justice and Home affairs domain, leading to a rapid convergence between border management, internal security and migration management from an operational and a policy point of view. We can no longer draw border lines between them. At the same time, the impact of the ongoing digital revolution will continue and even accelerate in the coming years. Therefore, the EU should continue to further explore the capabilities of technology to make border management, internal security and migration management stronger and smarter.</p><p>Although this all may sound too technological, if not technocratic, then I can assure you that in fact it is all about people. It's about how to best meet the expectations of EU citizens who are worried about terrorist threats, concerned with internal security as well as migration and expect our shared values, the values on which the EU has been built, to be translated into practical solutions and results.", said Krum Garkov, Executive Director of eu-LISA.</p><p>Undoubtedly, use of these systems implies significant change in border control processes. Efficiencies will only become apparent if the systems are appropriately utilised, technologies appropriately leveraged and border guards fully trained to deal with all eventualities. Engagement with the border guard community to enable their anticipation of future developments and their input during their development process will be key. eu-LISA and Frontex, the European Border and Coast Guard Agency, will therefore be working closely together throughout.</p><p>"In order to effectively address the double challenge of increased travel and greater security needs, it is imperative we harness the power of transformation that innovative new technologies can offer," said Frontex Executive Director Fabrice Leggeri. "Our discussions today centre on precisely those sophisticated systems that will help bona fide travellers enter the EU, while detecting those who represent a threat to our security upstream in order to take appropriate action."</p><p>Mike Flander, Head of Unit at the Austrian Federal Ministry of Interior, states that "EU Borders – Getting Smarter Through Technology means Interoperability and means having the right information at the right time at the right place in a secure, reliable and trustworthy manner."</p><p>​Keynote speakers also include Olivier Onidi, Deputy Director General of the Directorate-General Migration and Home Affairs, European Commission. Experts from EU Agencies as well as from the public and private sectors of several countries worldwide will share their knowledge and expertise.</p><p>Online web-streaming will be provided during the conference at <span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:corbel, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.eulisaconference.eu/streaming">www.eulisaconference.eu/streaming</a></span></span>​ and a Twitter-wall will be available to enable interactive participation from all locations.</p><p><br></p><p>The full press release is available in <a href="/Newsroom/PressRelease/Documents/eu-LISA%20Conference%202018%20PR%20EN.pdf">English</a>.<br></p>

<p>​Today eu-LISA celebrates the opening of its new headquarters in Tallinn with an inauguration event to thank those who provided the Agency with a highly modern working environment in a smart and energy-efficient new house. Representatives of eu-LISA's governing bodies, EU institutions, EU Agencies, the Estonian government as well as eu-LISA's staff will take part in the festive event at Vesilennuki 5, in the close vicinity of the Seaplane Museum.</p><p>Seven years ago, in 2011, the European Parliament and the Council decided to establish eu-LISA with the headquarters in Tallinn, Estonia. The Estonian government committed itself to build the headquarters' house, fit for the needs and requirements of an Agency, which is responsible for large-scale IT systems for European security and stability. Throughout these years eu-LISA received remarkable support from the EU authorities and the Estonian government, allowing the Agency to start in temporary premises in Rävala Street 4 and begin to deliver from day one. </p><p>The contract for the construction was signed in March 2017 between the Estonian State Real Estate Ltd (RKAS) and the construction company Fund Ehitus. </p><p>Sixteen months later, in July 2018, the Estonian Ministry of the Interior passed the building over to the Agency. The international staff of eu-LISA from 17 EU countries, who work in the headquarters, finally got their own "Home". </p><p> </p><p>The full press release is available in <a href="/Newsroom/PressRelease/Documents/eu-LISA%20HQ%20PR%20EN.pdf">English</a> and <a href="/Newsroom/PressRelease/Documents/eu-LISA%20HQ%20PR%20ET.pdf">Estonian</a>.​</p><p><br></p><p><img src="/Newsroom/PressRelease/PublishingImages/HQ.jpg" alt="HQ.jpg (1080Ã—720)" style="margin:5px;width:786px;" />​<br></p>

<p>After a little less than two years of intense efforts, the eu-LISA Internal Security Systems Sector successfully launched the first phase of the SIS II AFIS platform. The platform enables the identification of a person from his/her fingerprints alone. The introduction of a biometric search capability in SIS II was achieved by eu-LISA in tight cooperation with ten Member States who showed both interest and willingness to use biometric queries once deployed at the Central System level. Austria, Switzerland, Germany, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Latvia, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal and Slovenia will soon be followed by more Member States.</p><p style="text-align:justify;">The aim of SIS II AFIS is to allow all the Member States to leverage on a centralized policing-oriented database. As such, it will strengthen the fight against crime within Europe which is a mission we should bear in mind each day. Using the platform to locate those who either lie about their identity or changed it to avoid detection is paramount to Europe's security.</p><p style="text-align:justify;">SIS II AFIS Phase One entered into operation on 5 March 2018 at 22:00 CET. The entire project was performed without any deviation from the timescale and in full compatibility with the requests from eu-LISA's Governing Bodies.</p><p>"This is an important milestone in the evolution of SIS II. With its new biometric search capabilities the system becomes an even more
important platform for law-enforcement cooperation and information exchange. At
the same time, this is a great achievement for the Agency as a whole, demonstrating again our agility and ability to deliver towards the needs of
eu-LISA's stakeholders." said Krum Garkov, Executive Director of eu-LISA.<br></p><p style="text-align:justify;"><strong>Background</strong></p><p style="text-align:justify;">Articles 22 (c) of the SIS II Decision and the SIS II Regulation have foreseen an evolution towards the normal law enforcement practice of comparing a person's fingerprints to the many sets of prints stored in SIS II ('one-to-many' search) to identify the person solely on the basis of his/her fingerprints. </p><p>However, this can only be achieved by using an Automatic Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS).</p><p><strong>Links</strong></p><ul><li><p><a href="http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/ALL/?uri=celex:32006R1987"><span class="ms-rteStyle-Link">SISII Regulation</span></a></p></li><li><p><a href="http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/ALL/?uri=celex:32007D0533"><span class="ms-rteStyle-Link">SISII Decision</span></a></p></li><li><p><a href="/Publications/Reports/EL-AE-17-001-EN-N.pdf"><span class="ms-rteStyle-Link">SIS
II Technical Report</span></a><br></p></li></ul><p><strong>Contacts</strong></p><p style="margin:0px 0px 10px;padding:0px;font-family:verdana,geneva,sans-serif;font-size:14px;color:#000000;line-height:1.6;font-style:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;word-spacing:0px;background-color:#f4f4f4;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial;"><span style="padding:0px;margin:0px;border:0px none;line-height:1.6;">for media requests:</span></p><p style="margin:0px 0px 10px;padding:0px;font-family:verdana,geneva,sans-serif;font-size:14px;color:#000000;line-height:1.6;font-style:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;word-spacing:0px;background-color:#f4f4f4;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial;"><span lang="fr-BE" style="padding:0px;margin:0px;border:0px none;">e-mail:<span> </span></span><a href="https://213.56.69.233/owa/redir.aspx?C=i-bd5-JleUiiwT5JFDpDzE3ttZdQNNIIFNMvJdr9ohQJH8gZz84C7lS3Y7LiT1h5UIWp--tiFCE.&URL=mailto:press%40eulisa.europa.eu" target="_blank" style="color:#000000;"><span class="ms-rteStyle-Link" lang="fr-BE" style="padding:0px;margin:0px;border:0px none;font-size:14px;">press@eulisa.europa.eu</span></a></p><p>for general information:</p><p>e-mail: <a href="mailto:info@eulisa.europa.eu"><span class="ms-rteStyle-Link">info@eulisa.europa.eu</span></a></p>

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